Leipzig, Monaco stalemate

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Eight years after the club's formation, Leipzig made their Champions League debut and drew with visiting Monaco 1-1 yesterday.

Swedish midfielder Emil Forsberg claimed the team's first ever Champions League goal, only for Youri Tielemans to answer straight away for the French champion, who were knocked out by Juventus in the semi-finals last season.

"The atmosphere would give you goose bumps today," Leipzig and Germany striker Timo Werner said. "Of course we would have liked to have won, but Monaco defended very well."

Leipzig could not compete with Monaco's pedigree, having been formed in 2009 when Dietrich Mateschitz of energy drinks giant Red Bull bought a local fifth-tier team, SSV Markranstaedt. The 73-year-old Austrian billionaire rebranded the club with his company's livery before financing their steady promotion through the German league system.

But Leipzig, which shocked the Bundesliga by finishing runner-up as a promoted team last season, showed no inferiority complex on their debut in Europe's premier club competition.